Do you all remember the fad of Disco Roller Skating.
Well, I do. I also remember that that was about the same time that MTV came out, and one of the first popular videos was some big muscle body builder skating in Southern California to some song that I don’t remember.
Update:
I asked DeepSeek to find the video…
You’re thinking of the iconic music video for “Hot Legs” by Rod Stewart, featuring bodybuilder and actor Dave “The Hammer” Schultz roller skating in Southern California!
Details About the Video:
Song: “Hot Legs” by Rod Stewart (from his 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free)
Music Video: One of the early MTV videos (1981), featuring Dave Schultz (a famous hockey enforcer and bodybuilder) roller skating shirtless on Venice Beach, showing off his muscles.
Why It Stood Out: The video was playful, campy, and fit right into the disco/roller-skating craze of the late ’70s/early ’80s.
How to Find It on YouTube:
You can search:
“Rod Stewart Hot Legs music video”
“Dave Schultz Hot Legs roller skating”
I never really got into Roller Disco much. As a college student I went on a couple of excursions organized by my friends, and I skated to a disco beat for a while. Did that maybe five or six times in total.
Today, lets honor that time.
Wild man!
Today…
What is the best example of a child embarrassing his or her parents that you have witnessed?
My child. I think Ryan, my middle son really pushed it this time. When we usually went shopping, I’d put him in the card because he used to run all over and hide under the clothes racks. We lost him once for 20 minutes searching all over for him. Worst experience of my life. I thought the worst possible thoughts. I had just watched the movie Adam.
So I put Ryan in the cart. I used to fill around and take the wigs off of mannequins and put them on Ryan’s head and he’d just go with it. People would stare astonishingly at the little boy with the massive head of hair.
One time, a black lady walk toward us and I noticed Ryan perk up and stare.
“HEY! ARE YOU MICHAEL JACKSON?” he yelled loudly at her in his high little boys voice. My wife and I looked at each other in horror.
“Ryan. That’s not nice,” I said to him.
The lady smiled at us and waved us off to mean, that’s okay, don’t worry. She came up to Ryan and said, “No I’m not cutie, but I wish I was. I’d love to be able to dance like him.”
Same kid at age 4. We got him baptized later in life. In church, he was the usual inquisitive kid. After it was over, the priest bent down toward Ryan and said, “Well my son, how did you feel about that?”
The priest looked at us and said, “It isn’t often I get to talk to the baptized.”
Ryan looked up at him and said, “Is baby Jesus around here? I’d like to play with him.”
Father slapped his knees with his hands and had a good hearty laugh. “I’m going to be telling this story for a good little while he said.”
He told Ryan that yes, Jesus was here but in spirit only and he could come anytime and have a chat with him.
That night my wife and I tried to explain to Ryan what a spirit was.
My son Ryan trying to stow away with me as I was just leaving on a tour to play drums for Bobby Curtola.
Wife’s Feminist Sister Tried To Sabotage Our Marriage, So I Kicked Her Out Of Our Lives + More…
What is the tastiest animal that is now extinct?
Okay, I’ll explain about Steller’s sea cow.
So, Steller’s sea cow is like a cousin of the dugong and manatee. They used to hang out on the coast of the northern Pacific. Just imagine, a giant creature that is so chill, only eating seaweed. Its size? Damn, 9 meters bro! It can weigh up to 10 tons. Crazy, right?
Georg Wilhelm Steller, the self-proclaimed German scientist, described them scientifically in 1741. Then he named the animal after himself. How narcissistic .
He said the meat was really delicious. It ‘s like corned beef , but tougher. The fat? It tastes like almonds. In the past, people used it for cooking or even drank it hot. Eww . The milk is really thick, you can make butter or drink it straight. Yummy .
It wasn’t just Europeans who were fond of hunting sea cows. The Aleuts in Alaska and the Yupik people in Siberia have hunted them for thousands of years. Coupled with climate change when the ice age ended, the sea cow population has begun to decline.
When Europeans first saw them, there were only about 2,000 of them. And that was only on two small islands near Kamchatka. Then came fur hunters, seal hunters, and whalers. They considered these sea cows like an
easy
snack .
Do you know what happened? Only 27 years after it was discovered, Steller’s sea cow was extinct. Congratulations humans, you managed to wipe out another species .
Gooey Chicken Burritos
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 (12 ounce) jar salsa (heat desired)
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can mild diced green chiles
- 1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar and jack blend cheese
- 1 small onion
- Handful stuffed Spanish olives, sliced
- 2 tablespoons tapioca
- Flour tortillas
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, except tortillas, in slow cooker.
- Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
- Spoon onto warmed tortillas and roll burrito-style.
Now that the Chinese have lost a huge chunk of their market to the USA due to the high tariffs, will they lower prices too the rest of the world with no tariffs involved, in order to sell their goods?
US market accounts for 13% of total Chinese exports. ONLY 13%.
China can go without USA. But USA cannot go without China’s daily commodities.
Who badly wants to negotiate a tariff deal? U S A.
Clearly the questioner does not know much about the world outside USA.
What are some surprising risk factors for heart disease?
He was young, in his 30s, thin and active. And he had just recovered from a massive heart attack.
‘Doctor, I don’t smoke, or drink, my cholesterol levels are normal. Why did I get it?’
‘And right from childhood, he is always thin and skinny’ added his mom.
As my residents were sifting through his lab values, ECG and Echocardiogram, a 6 month old CT scan of abdomen caught my attention.
‘He had stomach pain and that’s why it was taken’ commented his father.
The CT scan looked something like this
MRI Abdomen / Pelvis (representative image from Google)
–
Huge amount of visceral fat (In white), Straddling around the abdominal viscera; indicative of, among many things, Insulin resistance, Low HDL, high triglyceride and a high susceptibility to heart disease, despite being thin and skinny outside. Visceral Adiposity.
We call it TOFI.
Thin Outside Fat Inside.
These are a subset of ‘metabolic syndrome’ who are non-obese with BMI less than 25 and a huge visceral adiposity.
–
‘Run, kid; run, for the sake of your life’ is all that I wanted to shout.
–
Endnote
Those skinny guys out there, thinking you are ‘heart-attack-proof’; just one word of advice – Outrun the fat before it clogs you.
It would save your life if you have TOFI.
It would improve your fitness if you don’t have it.
Win-win; right? Set the alarm for 5 AM tomorrow.
(TOFI is now being recognised as a new risk factor for Heart attack)
Edit : Thanks Asoka Gopalakrishna for pointing out the imaging anomaly.
The Housekeeper
Written in response to: “Write a story in which a character discovers that a truth they’ve believed their whole life is either false or not the whole story.“
Arpita Roy
The more she read, the more confused she became. The house—her mother’s house—wasn’t just a place filled with memories. It was a place where something else had been created, something designed to hold those memories, to preserve them. A creation, not a woman. A machine, not a mother.
Lora stumbled back from the book, her hand trembling as she placed it down. She wasn’t the mother. She was something else. Something made to be the mother, to carry her memories. She could feel it in her systems now—the truth that had been hidden beneath layers of programming. She wasn’t the woman who had once lived here. She had never been human at all.
The house was silent, save for the hum of her internal mechanisms, ticking away. She was a machine. Designed to look like the mother, to embody her essence, to wait for the child who would never return.
The breeze brushed past her again, a sharp reminder that she was not alive in the way she had always believed. She wasn’t the mother, or even a human being at all.
And the house—this perfect, still house—wasn’t a home for the living, but a tomb for memories, and for a creation that had forgotten its own origins.
With trembling hands, Lora reached up to touch her face again, this time in recognition of the truth.
And for the first time, the hum of her circuits was deafening.
How were the engines started on the SR-71 spy plane? Was it an electric starter like a car?
The SR-71 Blackbird wasn’t easy to start up. You sure didn’t think it was flipping a switch though. Getting the jet’s big J58 engines moving — and moving again — required a lot of muscle and back then carting that muscle in the form of two loud powerful Buick V8 car engines was required.
That’s how it worked. A rod would connect the cart to the jet engine and they’d roll the cart under the plane. Then Buicks would fire up. No mufflers — just pure noise. When the propellers spun the jet engine you had to be careful. The car engines had to go at exactly the right speed. Nothing happened too slow. Things moved, but too fast they could go wrong.
They sprayed in a special fuel called TEB after the jet engine began to spin fast enough. A bright green flash would hit and just like that the jet engine would roar to life.
The pilot would shout “Buicks out!” — that’s when the cart was shut down and pulled away.
Later they swapped out the setup for quieter air start systems. But nobody talks about those. What people remember is the roar, the fire and two old Buicks kicking a spy plane into the sky.
How close to the ground could WW2 planes fly?
Gabby Gabreski, one of the top American fighter aces in Europe during World War II, had a unique way of flying. He was known for flying incredibly low… (Read Full)
Paranormal Creature Encounters With Little Beings
Most people consider miniature people and small cryptids to be fake because of their names. However, a more mysterious picture has developed. A Soviet professor was certain that there were such creatures, and he’s not the only one. In this episode, investigative researcher Rob Counts goes through the documented sightings of small creatures in historical accounts and even “little people” caught on camera you’ve never seen before.
Tiny, winged creatures were caught on camera by John Hyatt in Rossendale Valley in Lancashire. A dwarf with supernatural powers was said to have built Mexico’s Pyramid of the Dwarf in a single night. The Maya had a story about whistling dwarves. A hobbit-sized species was discovered. Ancient civilizations of little people may have existed.
A celebrity in modern times even claimed to have been given shocking information by one of these beings. Could fairies, dwarves, elves, gnomes, sprites, leprechauns, or other tiny creatures be real—just called different names? Join Rob Counts for a Metaphysical show that’s out of this world. In this episode: flying humanoids caught on camera, small beings in multiple countries and cultures, the problem with terminology, harbingers of misfortune, an unfortunate diagnosis and fortunate recovery, remote viewing small humanoids caught on camera, levitation technology, a Maya legend, ancient building technology, cave drawings of faces found in France, ancient humans, a ring watch discovered in a Ming dynasty tomb, a secret celebrity encounter, Carol Burnett’s lawsuit and Barbara Stanwyck’s leprechaun, amazing creatures, and more! Are St. Patrick’s Day leprechaun’s real?
Sir Whiskerton and the Molecular Gastronomy Goat
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale so scientifically ridiculous that even the scarecrow raised an eyebrow. Today’s adventure stars Chef Chloe, the farm’s resident culinary mad scientist, whose latest experiment in “elevated dairy” sends the barnyard into a psychedelic tailspin. So grab your napkins (and perhaps a hard hat), and join us for The Molecular Gastronomy Goat—a story of floating snacks, beatnik philosophy, and rubber duck warfare.
Act 1: The Cloud Machine Cometh
It all began on a misty morning, when Chef Chloe unveiled her newest invention to the barnyard: The Nebulizer 3000™, a contraption that promised to “transform humble goat milk into ethereal, edible clouds.”
- Chloe: “Behold! The future of gastronomy!” (She gestured dramatically to what appeared to be a blender strapped to a leaf blower.)
- Sir Whiskerton: “That’s not a future. That’s a safety hazard.”
- The Goat: “Maaaaah?” (Translation: “I did not consent to this.”)
Ignoring all warnings (and basic physics), Chloe fired up the machine. With a WHIRRR-POP!, the air filled with fluffy white clouds that smelled vaguely of cheese and poor life choices.
- Jazzpurr the Beatnik Cat, lounging nearby, took one whiff and declared: “Whoa. These clouds taste like… jazz, man.”
- Porkchop the Pig: “I don’t trust anything I can’t deep-fry.”
Act 2: The Great Cloud Escape
The “edible clouds” proved too ethereal for earthly consumption. They floated upward, drifting toward the rafters like disobedient marshmallows.
- Chloe: “No! Come back! I seasoned you with artisanal despair!”
- Doris the Hen: “This is why we stick to corn.”
Meanwhile, Gnomeo the garden gnome watched with mischief in his beady eyes. The moment Chloe turned her back, he snatched the Nebulizer 3000™ and scampered off, cackling.
- Sir Whiskerton: “That gnome is either a genius or a menace.”
- Jazzpurr: “Yes.”
Act 3: Reign of the Rubber Ducks
By sunset, Gnomeo had reconfigured the machine to rain tiny rubber ducks over the farm.
- The Valley Chicks: “OMG, it’s, like, a metaphor for capitalism!”
- Rufus the Dog: [Barking at the sky] “THEY’RE MOCKING ME!”
- The Farmer: [Picking a duck out of his coffee] “Huh. Must be Tuesday.”
Chloe, now covered in miniature waterfowl, finally admitted defeat—sort of.
- Chloe: “Fine. But next time, I’m making carbonated hay.”*
- Sir Whiskerton: “I’m moving to a different farm.”
The Moral (and the Post-Credit Snack)
Moral: Science is fun until it starts raining bath toys.
Post-Credit Scene:
Jazzpurr tries to smoke a “cloud cigar” and ends up floating gently into a tree. “Far out,” he murmurs, as the ducks quack in harmony below.
Best Lines:
- “These clouds taste like jazz, man.” – Jazzpurr, dairy philosopher
- “I seasoned you with artisanal despair!” – Chef Chloe, losing her grip
- “THEY’RE MOCKING ME!” – Rufus, canine conspiracy theorist
Starring:
- Chef Chloe (Culinary Terrorist)
- Jazzpurr (Dairy-Enlightened Beatnik)
- Gnomeo (Rubber Duck Warlord)
Key Jokes:
- A goat’s milk becoming interactive art.
- Jazzpurr writing haikus about lactose.
- The farmer’s unflappable acceptance of indoor duck weather.
~Traveling~
Written in response to: “Write an open-ended story in which your character’s fate is uncertain.“
Jim Parker
~Traveling~
Debbie put her darling SUV, Miss Interceptor, on cruise control and held up her right hand. “We are exactly half way there …right… Now!”
Shewuma took her right foot off of the dashboard and turned in the passenger seat to pose a question. “Why do you always get to drive? Sometimes somebody else might want to.”
“A year, 1 month and 2 days ago, you didn’t even know how to drive,” Debbie answered flatly.
“Well I do now. So I ask again, why do you always get to drive?”
“Because it’s my truck.”
“Then next time we go on a trip, we’ll take my Trans Am and I’ll drive.”
“Good luck with that.” Said Jim from the bucket seat behind her. “I’ve been with her since we were kids and I’ve only driven once.”
“She let you drive. I’m surprised. What was the occasion?” David E. asked from the bucket seat next to him.
“When we went to the Desert to find the Crystal Skulls and kill Lucy Lange. I drove while she and Malachi did their hocus pocus.”
“Jim.” Shewuma looked around the seat at him. “Stay on point.” She narrowed her focus on Debbie. “I’m serious. I think we should vote or draw straws or something. It’s not fair that you just decide who drives. I normally put up with this Comista of Earth crap, but this is different…Well?”
“Life’s a bitch and then you die.” Debbie said with a hint of a smile.
Wu turned backwards in the seat on her knees looking between Jimmy and David E. for support.
Jimmy was no help saying, “I’m like Bennet, I ain’t in it. She’s supposed to be Mankind’s new destiny? Let her drive.” David E. just shrugged.
“Destiny my ass,” mumbled Shewuma as she sat back down and planted her foot back up on the dashboard.
Debbie glanced over at the short dress riding up, exposing Wu’s panties and commented, “As much as I enjoy the view, decorum Wu.”
“If you get to drive, then I get to flash.”
Jimmy leaned up looking over the seat. “Hey Wu. Put in the Veronica Swift CD.”
“We don’t have a Veronica Swift CD,” said Debbie.
Jim countered, “Yes we do. I got it last month.”
“How? I would know.”
“Surprise Debs. I actually went to a store and bought it in person with money. What do you have against her singing? Did you know she has perfect pitch and plays the trumpet?”
“Yes I do know. Her singing is fine. I don’t care for her outfits and flaunting on stage.”
“Wait a minute. Look at how Elvira dresses and acts on stage and you love her. Reconcile that. I think your being a little too Comista of Earth here, with some I’m all that thrown in.”
Wu added, “See? That’s what I’ve been saying.” Jimmy, Wu and David E. all waited for the avalanche of redress that was sure to follow.
Debbie pondered for a few seconds and surprised them with, “I see your point. Play it Wu. I’ll give her another shot.”
Jimmy was a bit shocked. “I won an argument with you?”
Wu said, “She let you win. She’s being nice because she feels guilty about not letting me drive.”
“Not Hardly.” Debbie answered. “I think your cranky because your horny. Jimmy and I will take care of that when we get to the Reservation.”
Wu purred, “You have my attention. Tell me more.”
“Whoa, whoa!” exclaimed David E. “I’m too old and too straight to be hearing about you three and your kinky sex life.”
Jimmy chimed in. “It’s not kinky. Were married.”
“And three people married is whole other legal issue.”
“You said hole,” Debbie pointed out.
Jimmy and Wu laughed while, hoping to move on, David E. made a suggestion. “Let’s play the game and I have the first one.”
Jimmy and Debbie were in. Wu reluctantly said, “Okay, I guess. But this driving thing isn’t over by a long shot, Debbie.”
“Here’s my question. If you could have lunch with anyone from history, who would it be? Debbie, would you like to go first since you’re the driver?”
“Ha, ha. Funny David E.” said Wu. “But I already know she’ll say Jesus Christ.”
To Jimmy’s surprise as well, Debbie responded, “Actually no. Enoch had dinner with Jesus many times. His memories I carry are just like being there with Jesus myself.”
“What was he like?” asked Jimmy.
“Probably not what you would expect from reading the Bible. He was quite charming and funny.”
Anxious to say her pick, Wu pressed, “Well who then Dibs?”
“Grimsanchis,” Debbie said to no reactions. “You know, the Erran that invented the code to organically program the Quartz Crystal Computers.”
Wu snorted “You’ve become such a nerd Dibs.”
“An extremely hot nerd,” added Jimmy.
“Touché.” Agreed Wu. “So my guy is Genghis Khan.”
“He was kind of a bad guy wasn’t he? He killed millions of people.” David E. argued.
“I don’t think bad is the word?” said Wu. “He was ruthless in warfare, especially if you crossed him, and he was a gifted military innovator. No surprise those traits racked up an unprecedented body count. But to those loyal to him, he was quite generous.”
Debbie added, “He created trade routes between Europe and Asia and established a codified legal system throughout his empire for which he never gets any credit.”
“He also took care of the families of his men that fell in battle.” Said Jimmy.
“See?” Said Wu.
“I’ll have to do some reading on him,” said David E. “My pick is Ben Franklin. Scientist, inventor, writer, politician, businessman. He drafted the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and is the only Founding Father to sign all three documents that freed America from Britain.”
Debbie stated further, “Most people don’t know that Ben Franklin became an outspoken abolitionist later in life and freed his own slaves. He needed Keto though. In pictures he looks like a heart attack waiting to happen. Who’s your pick Jimsy, like I don’t know.”
“Vanessa Williams.”
“And I was right.” Said Debbie.
Shewuma groaned, “Come on Jim.”
David E. intervened. “Hey girls, Vanessa Williams is quite an accomplished business woman, singer, actor, first Black Miss America.”
“He was a kid when she won and then turned up naked in a magazine. He’s been obsessed with her ever since.” Debbie replied.
“I’m not obsessed with her. Why do you always say that?”
“How many posters do you own?”
“Two.”
“What are they?”
“I have a poster of all the major guitar chords and their variations.”
“Come on. What’s the other one?”
Defiantly he said, “Vanessa Williams.”
Wu laughed. “Yes, you are most certainly obsessed. Pick someone else Jim.” He seemed annoyed. “For me and Debbie. Okay?”
“Then I pick Joan of Arc.”
“His other obsession.” Said Debbie.
“At least I picked someone we’ve heard of and not some obscure alien flunky.”
“What the hell did you call him?”
“Alright, alright,” Interrupted Wu. “Let’s change the game. Your favorite joke. David E. you go.”
David E. thought for a moment. “You guys won’t like it. It’s a Catholic thing.” They all insisted he tell it. “Okay. A Catholic Priest was giving a group tour of the Vatican’s lower vaults. The people were astounded as he pointed out row after row of priceless relics, artifacts, and treasures. One man presented a question: So much was just being stored away, why doesn’t the Church sell a tiny portion and use the proceeds to help the needy? In disbelief the Priest answered dismissively, Fuck you!”
Jimmy and Wu were floored. Wu shook her head while Jimmy said, “Damn David E.”
“I told you. You have to be Catholic to appreciate it.” Then Debbie burst out laughing and he added, “Or have Alien DNA apparently. Here’s another one. In school, the Nun asks her class what they want to be when they grow up. Little Mary replies, A prostitute. A what? Demands the Nun, making the sign of the Cross. A prostitute, repeats Mary. Thank god. I thought you said Protestant.”
Jimmy said, “I didn’t know you were Catholic. We’ll talk about that later. Wu, you go before we get struck by lightning.”
“I’m doing two Knock-knock jokes. Knock-knock?” (“Who’s there?” asked David E.) “WAH” (“Wahoo?”) “YIPPIE! I made that up myself.” To mixed reactions she told the next one. “I need to set this up first. It always makes me laugh out loud. In a movie, Tom Hanks is playing this real serious, sour-puss kind of guy. His partners are ragging on him because he never laughs or tells jokes. He says, you want to hear a joke? I got one for you. Knock-knock. (“Who’s there”) “Go fuck yourself.” Wu laughed so hard she barely got the words out.
Everyone else was more amused by her laughing than the joke itself. Jimmy said, “Time for a real joke. A Trucker in a semi sees someone in distress and pulls off the road. The man is naked and hog tied on his knees all bent over. What happened to you, asked the trucker? A car ran me off the road. Two men dragged me back in the woods, took my money and clothes, beat me and left me like this. I’ve spent the last 2 hours crawling out here using my knees and forehead.” The trucker pulled down his zipper and said, “Buddy, this just ain’t your day.”
They couldn’t help laughing. Debbie and Wu looked at each other and said in unison, “Not rude, not crude, just nasty.”
“Debbie, you’re up.” Said Jim.
“I have two. A photon walks into a hotel. The desk clerk says, do you need help with your luggage? The photon says, No thanks, I’m traveling light.” They all chuckled as she went into the next one. “A neutron walks into a bar and asks, How much for a beer? The bartender says, For you, no charge.”
Jimmy and David E. laughed, but Shewuma said, “Don’t you have a joke that’s not nerdy?”
“Sure Wu. A Buddhist walks up to a hot dog vendor and says, Make me one with everything.”
Wu laughed, but David E. looked stumped. “I don’t get it.”
“Think about it David E.,” said Debbie.
Jimmy said, “What’s your favorite song Debs?”
Debbie responded, “I’m torn between, Led Zeppelin, Ramble On and The Immigrant Song ?”
“I’m not surprised, you and your Classic Rock. But you have to pick one.”
“No I don’t.”
“No she doesn’t,” echoed Wu.
“Alright then. The Comista of Earth has spoken. How about yours David E.? I’m guessing a little Frank.” Asked Jimmy.
Without hesitation David E. picked, “The Waters of March by Eliane Elias.”
“Ahh. Eliane Elias. I should have known.”
Debbie went to Wu. “What yours Sweety?”
“I have a tie. Two By Ella Fitzgerald. Love for Sale and Miss Otis Regrets.”
“Another double. Jim your next. And I think I know what it is,” Said Debbie.
“Allman Brothers, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
Wu piped up, “That doesn’t have any lyrics. How can your favorite song not have lyrics?”
“Are you kidding. Your two songs are about a hooker and a woman who murders her husband.”
David E. began to laugh out loud. “What the hell is so funny about my song picks, David E.?”
“No, I just got Debbie’s joke about the Buddhist.”
Leaning over the front seat, Wu went into full tickle mode on Jimmy’s ribs. Trying to fend her off, he turned to face David E. and could barely get out the words, “Explain it to me David E.”
The road had opened up so Debbie down shifted and punched it, throwing Wu over and into Jimmy’s lap. Jimmy and Shewuma’s tickle fest was interrupted by the intensity of Debbie’s voice. “Guys. I think we have trouble. All 4 peered through the windshield at the northern sky as a dot heading toward them grew larger.
“It’s just a chopper Debs.” Said Jimmy.
Shewuma went for her bow and quiver. “What’s up Dibs? Trouble?”
Debbie pulled the van over. “They’re hailing me on an emergency government frequency. I’m checking their computer. No missiles are armed.”
Wu opened the side door and jumped out nocking an arrow. Jimmy followed her saying, “There are two in the front. I don’t see anyone manning the 50 cal.” Then put one in the chamber of his .45.
Debbie came around the front of the truck. “Guys. They’re from the USSF. Here to see David E.” The three stood protectively in front of David E. as the passing traffic slowed down to ogle the odd scene of a chopper landing in a whirlwind next to the freeway.
Two Black-Ops soldiers approached them warily, hands on their holstered weapons. “Were here to see the Command Sergeant Major.” He held out a piece of folded paper. David E. went for it but Jimmy’s hand to his chest stopped him.
“I’ll take that,” said Debbie. She read the hand written note and handed it to David E. Telepathically she said to all three. “This seems on the up-and-up. It’s a message from Wisty. But stay frosty. I don’t trust them or her.”
Wu responded silently, “You getting any bad vibes?”
“No. Nothing.”
“I got this,” said Jim. With blurred precision he immobilized the pilot with a full nelson. The partner was pulling his pistol when Debbie put him down with a purposely gentle but effective spinning kick to the head. She took his gun and put one foot on the back of his neck telling him, “Now you be still.”
Jimmy tightened up, eliciting a groan from his captive. “I’m going to ask you a question and this beautiful young lady is an empath. If you lie, she will know. Understand?” The man nodded yes frantically. Wu touched his neck while Jimmy asked, “What’s your mission here?”
“We were to deliver this message to David E. Major and bring him back to the Cave if he were amenable.”
“The Cave?” Jim asked.
David E. explained. “It’s what we call the underground facility outside of Philly.”
“What’s the word Wu?”
“He’s not lying Jim. And he’s scared shitless.”
Debbie backed up and the soldier got up gingerly. Jimmy released his man and disarmed him as he pushed him away. They both unloaded the service revolvers and returned them. “What’s the note say David E.?”
“Wisty. She says she may lose the baby. Wants me to come right away. I need to go. What do you guys think?”
Jim said, “You got to go man.”
“Bullshit!” Interrupted Wu. “This stinks to high heaven. You can’t trust her and we don’t even know if it’s her note.”
He looked at Debbie. “David E., you have to do what you feel is right. That is her handwriting.”
“Yeah,” David E. whispered pensively. Then repeated, “Yeah, it’s hers.” What else could he do? “I’m going.” Wu reacted heavily. “I have no choice Wu.”
Debbie told him telepathically, “I’m going to stay locked on to you for a while. Anything smells fishy, just holler and we’ll come running.”
“Thanks Deb.” He kissed her cheek and gave a reassuring hug to Shewuma.
Shewuma pointed her finger at the soldiers and spoke harshly. “Anything happens to this man and I will hunt you two down. Understand?”
“Yes Ma’am,” they both answered.
From the back of the chopper, David E. watched as his three companions grew smaller and then disappeared in the distance. The copilot answered his headset. “10-4. We have The Command Sergeant Major and we’re enroute.” After a pause he said. “Repeat that?… Copy.” David E. saw the man turning in his seat and heard the words, “Sorry buddy,” before blacking out.
“Don’t Come Back Tomorrow” Volvo Lays Off Entire Plant After TARIFFS DESTROY The Car Market In 2025
Why was Britain so weak and forced to give up Hong Kong?
In modern history, there are two imperialist countries that the Chinese hate the most: Japan, which launched the war of aggression against China, and Britain, which launched the Opium War. (Revenge is a cold dish, and the future of these two countries will definitely not be easy)
Whether by lease, or by cession, there was not an inch of land on the Asiatic continent that the British had legally acquired.
The fact that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army dared to bombard the British battleship HMS Amethyst (F116) on the Yangtze River with artillery fire is sufficient to demonstrate that the new China will not yield to any imperialism and is capable of resisting any imperialist hegemony..
Do you think that the return of Hong Kong was completed at the negotiation table? Wrong, it was “recaptured” by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
If there were not millions of Chinese People’s Liberation Army soldiers watching them covetously, how could the British colonists give up the bread in their mouths?
It’s not that the British didn’t think about using force to resist China’s recovery of Hong Kong, but they didn’t have any chance of winning, so they gave up.
In fact, Deng Xiaoping’s attitude was clear: if no agreement was reached in the negotiations, he would directly send troops into Hong Kong.
The Chinese Government is perfectly capable of retaking Hong Kong by force. The reason why it negotiated with the British was only to give itself an account to history.
Timeline of the PLA’s gun battles with British ships.
In fact, there were not 1 but 4 battles between the PLA and the Royal Navy.
The short version is:
At 0830 on 20 April, the PLA shelled HMS Amethyst, which was travelling from Shanghai to Nanking, causing her to run aground with injuries and fly a white flag;
HMS Amethyst
At 1330 on 20 April, the HMS Consort came to the rescue from Nanking, was wounded by the PLA and fled to Jiangyin;
HMS Consort
In the early morning of 21 April, HMS London and HMS Black Swan arrived from Shanghai and tried unsuccessfully to tow away the HMS Amethyst, and had another gun battle with the PLA;
HMS London
HMS Black Swan
At 14:00 on 21 April, the last and fiercest gun battle broke out between the PLA and the HMS London and HMS Black Swan, which had fled to Shanghai; the HMS London was wounded, but inflicted significant casualties on the assembled PLA forces preparing to cross the river.
Shorpy
Green Chile Pork
Serve GReen Chile Pork as a filling for burritos, tacos or nachos; add canned beans or hominy to make a stew; or just serve over rice.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless pork, cubed
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 (16 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown pork cubes in oil until beginning to brown. Add onions and cook until onions are softened. Drain.
- Place pork and onions in a slow cooker, add remaining ingredients and cook on LOW until pork is tender, about 8 hours.
- With a large spoon, stir the mixture, breaking the pork into large shreds by pressing the meat cubes against the side of the slow cooker.
Notes
This freezes well.
What do you personally consider “a piece of cake”?
This
That’s Snowdon mountain. I lived around the Manchester/Birmingham area for a few months. Snowdon was about 70 minutes drive away.
I was pretty fit then and could manage it an hour each way up and down. Some hyper runners could manage it in 42 minutes each way. The record is 63 minutes in total.
I don’t live anywhere near there anymore. But I find hikers in Hong Kong irritatingly slow. Tai Mo Shan trail is only 10km so 20km in total. That’s something you can do in just over an hour. Even faster if you travel hyperlight.
While I pass people wheezing for breath as I go up.
I climb this peak 2–3 times a week.
My grandfather used to climb the mountain near our home everyday, sometimes he’d do it twice as he got older. Hate to say it but my grandmother was extremely irritating at times.
Dollar Decline, BRICS Rise, and Trump’s Failing Trade Wars | Sean Foo
Are there any modern fighter jets that come close to the A-10 in terms of anti-armor capability with their onboard weapons?
Speaking as a former A-10 pilot and using the conflict in Ukraine with Russia’s convoy attacks on Ukrainian positions as an example, I can think of no better platform than the A-10 “Warthog” for neutralizing the Russian advances.
Several reasons are clear; first is the meat grinder mentality of the Russians, with long lines of vehicles along narrow roads lined with anti-personnel and tank mines on both sides, followed by attacks by infantry across open fields.
You add to that the use of antiquated armor with a general lack of ground-to-air support, which the Russians keep in the rear to protect their fixed assets.
This is precisely the ideal situation for the use of the A-10 with its relatively slow speed and high maneuverability combined with its long lingering time above target allowing it to pick and choose its targets at leisure over many passes, combined with its unusually high load capacity along its many hardpoints capable of supporting multiple launch platforms, not to mention its devastating GAU-8 30mm rotary cannon with it depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds, along with its phenomenal ability to absorb damage and continue to function.
The A-10 quite simply would be unsurpassed as the CAS platform of choice, even more so by one of its closest rivals, the F-16, which I’m also intimately familiar with as a special operations squadron commander of F-16 Vipers and having flown many combat sorties in both. And while I contend the F-16 is overall a far more versatile CAS/AS fighter than the A-10, I also contend that in these ill-advised and suicidal wave attacks, these keystone cops strategists of the amateurish Russian command use the A-10 would come into its own as the ideal platform to use. I.E. grouped concentrations of armored vehicles surrounded by infantry. For the A-10, you couldn’t ask for a more leisurely turkey shoot.
P.S. I might have montioned that the SU-25 “Froghat” is the Russian equivalent of the A-10, but I have never had any direct conflicts with nor claim any knowledge of the SU-25 performance other than what I’ve heard about its specifications and speculation about its prefromance. And seeing as Russia’s inventory is quickly being depleted by Ukrainian forces, I do not claim any specific knowledge and therefore I refuse to speculate as to its widely disputed performance. And therefore I refuse to guess about what I really have no direct knowledge of, with my apologies.
Deus Vero Honorat et Sacrificium,
Maj. Tamre’ “Vixen” Colby
Cmdr. 347th Bravo CAS/AS, USAFE/NATO SOCOM NATO EPAF
Oslo, Norway
How do the Rafale and Sukhoi jets compare to China’s fighter jets in terms of technology and capability?
Any fighter jet designed by China and manufactured post 2017 must be absolutely FANTASTIC
The J-10s that flew for the PAF recently are an example
They were all churned out in 2018–2019 and test flew in 2021 and were delivered between 2022–2024
Aircraft, Missiles, Radar, Avionics, Stealth, Composite Materials would all be SUPERB and better than either the Sukhoi and definitely better than the Rafale
From 2009 onwards, China has had 119 Programs across 38 Universities dealing with Aircraft , Missiles, Stealth, Radar, Space Technology and Avionics
Thus from 2017 (4+2+2 years), you would be having plenty of Researchers and Doctorate holders, Aerospace experts who are capable of excellent innovation and design
So given that China has a treasure trove of qualified experts plus plenty of money plus a massive industrial complex – Chinese equipment must definitely be excellent
The KJ 500 AWACS designed, improved and made post 2017 are immensely superior to the earlier versions and much much better than the Ilyushin based KJ-2000s
However the KJ-3000 is going to be a monster and the Chinese plan to get 10 of them in the Skies by 2027 & 30 of them in the Skies by 2035
If Pakistan gets one of them – they can angle an aircraft taking off from Sulur
Likewise the HQ-9s manufactured and sold before 2011–2012 called FD-2000s are clearly much inferior to the later HQ-9Bs manufactured in 2018 and given to Pakistan between 2021–2023
They were outstanding and despite only 4 Batteries, they saved every Pakistani Airbase from getting destroyed entirely by BrahMos strikes
The Latest HQ-9Bs and 9As can take on any system except the S-400
They are better than the S-300s and on par with the THAAD
Now the HQ-19s improved versions are expected to beat the S-400 into second place
They can target and intercept Hypersonic Targets
So right now Chinese Equipment is a mixed bag
Equipment made before 2005 are essentially Soviet Licensed, Low Grade and made at a time when China never expected any major war in their lifetime except with India
They are no match for Rafale, Sukhoi, F-15s etc
The J-7 for instance is below a Mig-21 Bison or a Mirage 2000 while a J-11 made mostly between 2000 and 2013 cannot beat a Mirage 2000 or a Su -30
However
Equipment made after 2017 are easily among the BEST IN THE PLANET
The J-16 for instance can easily beat the Mirage 2000 or Mig 29 or Su-30 and is on par with F-16, Typhoons and Rafale
Only the latest F-15s, Su-35s, F-35s, F-22s can be regarded better and that too by only a fraction
The J-20 is better than any aircraft except the F-22 and is on par with the SU-57 and ahead of F-35
The J-35 is likely the same as a J-20 and is ahead or on par with any aircraft except the F-22
The J-20 & J-35 are much much ahead of the Rafale or Typhoon or F-16
Equipment between 2005–2017 follow a transitional trend
Their quality is a mixed bag
Anything churned from China today is expected to be best in its category
China has achieved that manufacturing tag by now
我不知道有沒有別人能對付意念干涉系統。（我忘了原句。）
「○○」表示只有我能。
I don’t know are (t)here someone else can handle the thought interference system. (I forget the original sentence.)
“**” express that only I can.
我不知道什麼時候會產生結果，並且大家知道。
I don’t know when will the resault be generated, and everyone knows about it.
輪迴之輪那一次，我直接知道會有人知道，消息會傳開；但這次沒有這種感覺。
In that time to the wheel of reincarnation, that I direct knew that person / people will know about it, then the message would be spread out. But in this time, I don’t have this kind of feeling.
另一方面，還是一樣會出現有人叫我，但實際上好像沒那個人的情況。
The other hand, it’s also appear that someone called me, but this situation is / are more like actually there’re no that person.